Guillermo Vargas Aignasse (born in 1943, disappeared 1976) was an

Argentine Argentines, Argentinians or Argentineans are people from Argentina. This connection may be residential, legal, historical, or cultural. For most Argentines, several (or all) of these connections exist and are collectively the source of their ...

Peronist Peronism, also known as justicialism, is an Argentine ideology and movement based on the ideas, doctrine and legacy of Juan Perón (1895–1974). It has been an influential movement in 20th- and 21st-century Argentine politics. Since 1946, Pe ...

politician, serving as a provincial Senator in

Tucumán Province Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neighb ...

from 1973 until his disappearance in 1976. In 2008, two former generals were jailed for life for his disappearance.Argentine chiefs jailed for life

BBC Online BBC Online, formerly known as BBCi, is the BBC's online service. It is a large network of websites including such high-profile sites as BBC News and BBC Sport, Sport, the on-demand video and radio services branded BBC iPlayer and BBC Sounds, t ...

, 28 August 2008.

Background

Vargas Aignasse was born and raised in Andalgalá,

Catamarca Province Catamarca () is a province of Argentina, located in the northwest of the country. The province had a population of 429,556 as per the , and covers an area of 102,602 km2. Its literacy rate is 95.5%. Neighbouring provinces are (clockwise, f ...

, and was a

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

by profession, teaching in the discipline until his election to the Provincial Senate of Tucumán in 1973. He was elected on the Frejuli ticket that brought

s back to power, and was associated with the left-wing faction of Peronism, having belonged to the center-left FANE (National Student Associations Front).''Página/12'': Hay muchos fantasmas que lo abruman
''Diario del Cuyo'': Guardia de Hierro del PJ
Amid the worst climate of violence in the country, Tucumán Province was placed under

martial law Martial law is the replacement of civilian government by military rule and the suspension of civilian legal processes for military powers. Martial law can continue for a specified amount of time, or indefinitely, and standard civil liberties ...

in January 1975, after which

Operativo Independencia Operativo Independencia ("Operation Independence") was a 1975 Argentine military operation in Tucumán Province to crush the People's Revolutionary Army (Argentina), People's Revolutionary Army (ERP), a Guevarist guerrilla group which tried to c ...

, a

counterinsurgency Counterinsurgency (COIN, or NATO spelling counter-insurgency) is "the totality of actions aimed at defeating irregular forces". The Oxford English Dictionary defines counterinsurgency as any "military or political action taken against the ac ...

offensive, was launched by presidential order. The installation of General Antonio Domingo Bussi as its commander in December coincided with Vargas Aignasse's investigation of provincial Police Chief Colonel Antonio Arrechea on reports of

drug trafficking A drug is any chemical substance other than a nutrient or an essential dietary ingredient, which, when administered to a living organism, produces a biological effect. Consumption of drugs can be via inhalation, injection, smoking, ingestion, ...

. The 1976 military coup, on March 24, resulted in Vargas Aignasse's arrest by provincial police, who had their detainee turn in all documentation regarding the Arrechea case. Days later, his brother, Rodolfo, was allowed to see the prisoner from above a patio, following which, per police testimony, he was released from prison on 5 April and 'kidnapped by parties unknown' while being taken home in an official car. He was later reportedly seen alive and in pain by a number of witnesses, though his whereabouts afterwards remained unknown. Unable to do so until after the return of democracy in 1983, Rodolfo Vargas Aignasse filed a missing persons case on February 6, 1984. Ultimately, and despite the unwillingness of numerous witnesses to testify, Bussi was arrested for ordering Vargas Aignasse's abduction, on October 15, 2003.Dictamen de procesamiento d
Indictment of Generals Antonio Domingo Bussi and Luciano Benjamín Menéndez, Federal Appeals Court of Tucumán
During the trial that formally began in July 2008, former trade union leader Juan Antonio Palavecino testified that he had seen Vargas Aignasse in Tucumán police headquarters showing signs of torture on April 6, 1976, one day after his supposed kidnapping, and contrary to the official story.
, '' Clarín'', 28 August 2008. Bussi and former General

Luciano Benjamín Menéndez Luciano Benjamín Menéndez (19 June 1927 – 27 February 2018) was an Argentine general and convicted human rights violator and murderer. Commander of the Third Army Corps (1975–79), he played a prominent role in the murders of social activi ...

were found guilty of Vargas Aignasse's

forced disappearance An enforced disappearance (or forced disappearance) is the secret abduction or imprisonment of a person with the support or acquiescence of a State (polity), state followed by a refusal to acknowledge the person's fate or whereabouts with the i ...

and sentenced to

life imprisonment Life imprisonment is any sentence (law), sentence of imprisonment under which the convicted individual is to remain incarcerated for the rest of their natural life (or until pardoned or commuted to a fixed term). Crimes that result in life impr ...

on August 28.

Rodolfo Vargas Aignasse Rodolfo is a given name. Notable people with the name include: * Rodolfo (footballer, born 1989), Rodolfo Xavier Neves, Brazilian striker * Rodolfo (footballer, born 1991), Rodolfo Alves de Melo, Brazilian goalkeeper * Rodolfo (footballer, born 1 ...

was elected to the

Argentine Chamber of Deputies The Chamber of Deputies (), officially the Honorable Chamber of Deputies of the Argentine Nation, is the lower house of the Argentine National Congress (). It is made up of 257 national deputies who are elected in multi-member constituencies c ...

in 1987, and the disappeared lawmaker's son,

Gerónimo Vargas Aignasse Gerónimo Vargas Aignasse (born 18 July 1970) is an Argentine politician and Front for Victory member of the Argentine Chamber of Deputies, representing Tucumán Province. He is the son of forced disappearance, disappeared Peronism, Peronist phys ...

, is currently a member of the Chamber.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vargas Aignasse, Guillermo 1943 births 1970s missing person cases 1976 deaths Argentine physicists Justicialist Party politicians Members of the Legislature of Tucumán Missing Argentine people Missing person cases in Argentina People from Catamarca Province People killed in the Dirty War

Background

See also

References